Changes in technology and the increasing expectations of customers have led to numerous innovations in marketing strategy. Omni-channel marketing is one such approach that seamlessly integrates various modes of selling, marketing, and serving customers into a single holistic customer experience that is always accessible. A great mobile marketing ploy, a superbly-designed website, and captivating social media campaign must all work together for it to be counted as an omni-channel experience.
The popularity and growth of this particular advertising trend is not surprising given the fact that a whopping 87 percent of consumers opine that it is essential for brands to strive towards offering a cohesive experience.
The key here is to ensure that the goals of the organization, the message it seeks to convey, and its design must align irrespective of the device or channel. Customers today are exposed to various channels in the course of their buying journey and while technology dominates here too, newspapers and mail catalogs are still in play.
Maybe you haven’t realized it yet, but it is likely that you have been the target of one or more such omni-channel marketing strategies. A great example of an excellent omni-channel experience is the Starbucks rewards program. Here, your free rewards card can be checked and reloaded through the website, by phone, at the store, or with the help of the app. All changes to your profile or the card are updated across all the channels in real time.
Yet another example of an organization having nailed down the omni-channel experience is Disney. The initial experience of booking a trip on the company’s alluring website is further enhanced by the planning tool that lets you chalk out every minute detail of your trip to a Disney park with the help of just your mobile phone. Not to forget the wholly personalized omni-channel experience offered by luxury retailer Neiman Marcus with the use of web analytics, innovative tech tools, and geo-location features. Suppose you search for shoes or clothes in a particular size, the next time you look for these items, the site will provide you with results that are available at its closest brick-and-mortar location.
Timberland, meanwhile, has turned to near-field communication (NFC) technology to blend together the digital and physical aspects of e-commerce. With its TouchWalls display, the brand lets customers create personalized shopping lists for online as well as in-store products. This information is stored and used for product recommendations in future.
With research indicating that organizations that place greater importance on customer experience make 60 percent more profits than others, it is clear that adopting omni-channel marketing is the way to go.
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